"Alone" is a song by Norwegian record producer and DJ

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. His songs "Faded (Alan Walker song), Faded", "Sing Me to Sleep", "Alone (Alan Walker song), Alone", "All Falls Down (Alan Walker song), All Falls Down" (with Noah Cy ...

. Incorporating uncredited vocals provided by Swedish singer

Noonie Bao Jonnali Mikaela Parmenius (born 9 August 1987), better known by the stage name Noonie Bao, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and record producer. She has written songs for artists such as Don Diablo, Ava Max, Katy Perry, Zara Larsson, Charli XCX, ...

, it was released commercially for digital download on 2 December 2016. Two sequels to the song were released: " Alone, Pt. II" (2019) and " Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)" (2023). The song garnered critical acclaim upon release.

Background

In a press release on 2 December, Walker stated: "For me, ''Alone'' is about cohesion. A song that praises the feeling and comfort of solidarity. When I started making music it was never about to be any

articular The articular bone is part of the lower jaw of most vertebrates, including most jawed fish, amphibians, birds and various kinds of reptiles, as well as ancestral mammals. Anatomy In most vertebrates, the articular bone is connected to two o ...

but about creating something for others who could enjoy it with me. What I have experienced by making music and sharing it with thersare stunning."

Music video

The release of the music video for "Alone" was published on Walker's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on 2 December 2016. It has over 1.2 billion views as of October 2021. The music video explores themes of being alone yet quickly evolves into what seems to be a group effort by Walkers to meet up. Most of the video was filmed in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, focusing on Walker's hometown

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and included panoramic shots of nearby

tourist attractions A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

such as

Ulriken Ulriken (or the older, ''Ålreken'') is the highest of the Seven Mountains () that surround the city of Bergen, Norway. It has a height of above sea level. Ulriken has an aerial tramway, Ulriksbanen, that can bring people to the top. At the t ...

and

Trolltunga Trolltunga ("the troll tongue") is a rock formation situated about above sea level in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The cliff juts horizontally out from the mountain, about above the north side of the lake Ringedalsvatne ...

Odda Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...

. Some parts were also filmed at prominent locations in Europe, including

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In connection with the release of his third official single, he recorded the music video at Ulriken mountain in mid-October. For that, he sought and used over 100 Bergen citizens to supernumerary roles in the production, which was made by the Swedish production company Bror Bror.

Critical reception

Tor Marin Bøe of ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' gave the song a positive review, stating:

"The song sounds like a modernized nursery rhyme from the bygone fifties. Think the same marching rhythm as "We walk with peaceful courage", but where you open to throw in a "even if we are pursued by zombies". The feeling of walking through the forest at dusk with Alan Maskefjes chasing after one is compelling. The whole is characterized by too many ideas being thrown out one after the other. Themes that just pass in the dark, never to return again. You don't have such good advice in the barely 160 seconds that "Alone" covers." .

Alone (Restrung)

On 10 February 2017, Alan Walker published an acoustic version of "Alone", called "Alone (Restrung)", exactly one year after he published " Faded (Restrung)". The official lyric video to "Restrung" was released 16 February.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2016 songs 2016 singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Norway Music videos shot in Norway Number-one singles in Austria Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression Songs written by Gunnar Greve Songs written by Jesper Borgen Songs written by Alan Walker (music producer) Songs written by Noonie Bao Alan Walker (music producer) songs Songs written by Mood Melodies